Waiting For The Next Surprise
by DarkMasterofCupcakes
Summary: A collection of oneshots. Lock/Shock, Jack/Sally, Gen. Up now: "Dogs can find their masters, even after death." Rating varies per oneshot, but usually K  or T.
1. Bagworms

**Bagworms**

**Rating: K+**

**Characters: Lock, Shock, Barrel**

**Pairing: Lock/Shock**

* * *

Barrel just didn't get it.

It was like everyone knew it but the two of them.

How was that even possible? How could everyone except them know about it?

Then again, maybe they were just too busy arguing all the time to notice.

But Barrel noticed.

He didn't have much to do whenever Lock and Shock would start arguing, so he would just watch them.

And as time went by, he started noticing the subtle changes in their actions as they'd fight.

People always called him the dumb one of the three, but he still noticed things concerning his friends.

And he definitely noticed how differently they fought now as opposed to a couple years ago.

Back then they would just yell at each other, sometimes try to smack one another or pull each other's hair. For the most part, their fights never got that physical.

Recently, that had changed. Now whenever they fought, they'd jump on each other, Shock would pull on Lock's tail, he'd punch at her chest.

At first, Barrel didn't think anything of it.

But then he started talking to people like Sally, and found out what she had to say about it.

He had expected her to tell him that there was nothing more to it then the two of them simply becoming more violent towards one another. He didn't expect what Sally's answer actually _was_.

According to the living rag-doll, sometimes kids fought like Lock and Shock because they were trying to hide certain feelings towards each other.

Barrel's reaction to hearing this had been something like this: blink, laugh for an hour, then realize Sally was being serious.

Maybe it was because he was just nine, still in the stage where girls could actually kill you with some disease should you kiss them, but Barrel didn't get how two people could fight so viciously if they actually had feelings towards each other.

If Jack and Sally were anything to go by, then most couples showed their feelings by kissing, not by beating the tar out of each other like Lock and Shock did on an increasingly regular basis.

Maybe they had to kiss once before they did it again.

That meant if he could get Lock and Shock to kiss, they'd stop trying to kill each other. Or, at the very least, they'd do it less often.

But, he still had a problem: how was he supposed to get them to kiss?

Suggesting it wouldn't do any good; they'd probably just laugh in his face.

That left only one option: he'd have to force them.

But, how?

The little corpse-boy raked his mind for a solution to his problem.

Finally he had the answer.

When Jack tried to bring Christmas to Halloweentown, he'd brought some of these little plants called "mistletoe".

Apparently they gave off some kind of magic that made people have to kiss if they got underneath it.

It was also a parasite, according to Finklestein, who had studied the white-berried leaves.

They didn't have any mistletoe left, but Barrel didn't think that mattered.

One parasite was as good as the next, right?

* * *

"Why'd you drag us out here, Barrel?" Lock asked his chubby little companion as the trio of trick-or-treaters walked through the dark, misty woods that surrounded Halloweentown.

"Yeah….there's nothing for us to do out here. Nothing for anyone to do out here, actually" Shock said, adding to the devil's statement of annoyance.

Barrel just chuckled; he liked having a secret that the older kids didn't know.

So, he remained silent as he led them to a tiny clearing in the middle of the woods.

There was a large rotting tree, covered in bagworms in the middle of the clearing.

"Go stand over there" Barrel said, pointing at a spot underneath some bagworms.

The witch and the devil rolled their eyes, but humored the corpse-child anyway.

They stood beneath the parasitic worms for several moments, not moving from that spot, wondering why they had to stand there.

Barrel was thinking about the same thing.

Why were they just standing there? Weren't they supposed to kiss?

Maybe the bagworms were old, and their magic was wearing off. Maybe some outside assistance was needed….

"Let's go home. This is boring" Lock suggested, turning his face to Shock.

The young witch was about to answer, when suddenly she was shoved forward by Barrel charging into her from behind.

She'd been pushed straight into the devil, who'd leapt backwards in surprise, possibly trying to avoid being hit.

For the most part, he was successful, avoiding physical contact in all but one place. Unfortunately, that one place just happened to be his lips.

The two of them stayed there for about ten seconds, just having their lips pressed together. Barrel, meanwhile, just stood back and watched.

"You guys having a good time?" Barrel asked about five seconds later, a toothy smile on his face. At this question, Shock turned around, taking her lips off of Lock's.

"You're going to regret this, Barrel! I can promise you that!" the young witch shouted at her younger companion, shaking a pale green fist at him.

Barrel swallowed, and then did the only sensible thing in his situation. He ran like hell, with Shock chasing after him, leaving Lock alone in the clearing.

The young devil just stood there, apparently too shocked to move.

And, as he finally started to be able to move his body, he noticed the burning sensation in his cheeks.

Trying to ignore the sensation in his face, Lock started to walk after his cohorts.

As he walked after them, he made a promise to himself: he would _never_ tell _anyone_ that he actually enjoyed that kiss.

* * *

Here's a oneshot for Nightmare Before Christmas, focussing on Lock, Shock, and Barrel. It takes place about 2 years after the movie, so I'll give you the age the trio is here, and you can guess how old I thought they were in the movie.

Lock: 13  
Shock: 11  
Barrel: 9 1/2

I know most people believe their much younger than 11, 9, and 7 and a half in the movie, but my theory is they appear younger than they really are in order to be proper trick-or-treaters...in other words, Oogie Boogie did it.

This is a Lock/Shock story, mostly cause that's actually my favorite NBC pairing, despite there being almost no evidence for it in the actual film. If anyone wants to disagree with that statement, please give me some hint from the movie that hints that Lock and Shock like each other.


	2. Family of a Different Sort

**Family of a Different Sort**

**Rating: K**

**Characters: Bruce, Brom, Byron, Bella (Vampire Brothers), Carmella (Gargoyle)**

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* * *

**

Bruce turned his head in the direction of the small shuffling noise he'd just heard.

This was one of the few times the large vampire was separated from his brothers. Normally, they almost seemed joined at the hip, always close to one another.

On this night, however, the second-eldest of the four vampire brothers was wandering around the woods alone.

Being a large fellow, he rarely felt satisfied with the meals he and the others ate.

Tonight, he found himself particularly dissatisfied, and was now looking for a hog.

Occasionally, a live pig would find their way into the forest of Halloweentown, though no one knew where they came from.

Bruce would search for the swine whenever he felt less than full after his normal dinner; the pig's blood was plenty filling, as well as sweet to the taste.

He heard the same shuffling noise as before, and this time, saw a small bush rustle.

Thinking the cause of the movement was a pig, Bruce slowly stepped towards the bush, being careful to not disturb his prey.

As he approached, a large wing with a strange little claw at the end popped out of the bush.

Scratching his bald head, Bruce grabbed the bush and tore it out of the ground; the roots were barely holding it down.

Lying on the ground was a tiny gargoyle child. Its head and wings were disproportionately large compared to the rest of its body, a thin tail with a spade at the end swished around on the muddy ground, and the child looked up at the large vampire with bright red eyes.

It opened its toothless mouth in a smile, cooing softly as it pulled itself into a sitting position.

The child, who couldn't be more than a year old and was probably younger than that, was completely naked, save a cloth diaper.

The bald vampire looked around, trying to see if he could spot any parents. There was no way a little one like this could have wandered too far away from its mother and father. Finding no signs of older gargoyles, Bruce could only come to one conclusion: the child had been abandoned, for one reason or the other.

A sudden sneeze from the gargoyle babe caught his attention. The weather was cold and damp, not good weather to be outside in such little clothes.

The baby would very likely catch its death of cold if left alone.

"Come here, little one" Bruce said quietly to the gargoyle, scooping the large-headed child into his arms.

Holding the child in his arms, the vampire was able to see just how small it was.

It had looked small, but holding it, he got a real idea of just how fragile something so little could be. There was no way it would be able to survive the night outside.

So, with the little gargoyle still nestled in his arms, the large-bodied vampire returned to the broken-down manor he shared with his brothers: Brom, Bella, and Byron.

Bella, the smallest of the four, was the first to notice the gargoyle in his brother's arms.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing at the baby 'goyle, who was now sleeping soundly in Bruce's arms.

"I found this little one in the woods. It was all alone." the bald blood-sucker explained.

As if they could read their brother's mind, the other three nodded.

They made a silent agreement in that moment; they would raise the child as their own.

After all, the Corpse's had a child, and they could barely walk without nearly tripping themselves. If they could care for their son, then the vampire brothers could care for this baby gargoyle with no problems.

"What shall we name it?" Byron, the second smallest next to Bella, questioned.

"First we must find out if it is a boy or a girl." replied Brom.

Another nod was shared amongst the four, before they all stared at the slumbering infant.

Each was trying to find features that would indentify the child's sex.

There was nothing that gave them any idea of the gender. They had heard that some gargoyles had wing markings or shapes that showed the sex, but they couldn't remember which markings or shapes meant what gender.

Unable to determine the sex of the child by more polite means, the vampires went to the next logical step.

As Bruce was still holding the child, he was the one chosen to check.

After peering briefly inside the cloth wrapped around the baby's waist that acted as a diaper, the bald bloodsucker turned to his brothers.

"It is a girl." He informed them.

The other three exclaimed happily; they were honestly hoping for a girl. It just felt more right to be raising a female, instead of a male.

Once again, they began to ponder possible names.

They each threw out different names: Mayra, Belinda, Callista, and Collette.

None of the names seemed to fit.

Finally, it was Byron who suggested the name Carmella.

Each of the four brothers nodded in agreement. They had found the name for their adopted daughter.

The little girl, now christened Carmella, woke then, whimpering softly.

Assuming she was hungry, Bruce took out a small bottle of sheep's blood he'd saved from supper and carefully poured it into her toothless mouth.

Carmella lapped up the red liquid, making smacking noises with her lips, as her new fathers looked on.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own anything these characters, or Nightmare Before Christmas in general. They belong to Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Touchstone Pictures, and Disney.

Making the Gargoyle Kid from the film be a girl, and having her be the adopted daughter of the Vampire Brothers, is an idea I came up with, along with my good friend, Inferno Shock. We figured she was a girl because her voice is normally, save for "Town Meeting Song" very high for a boy, even a young child. As for the adoption, well….they're together during "Making Christmas", and, at the end, she's hanging upside down like one of the vampires at the beginning.

This story takes place approximately 2 years before the film.

Try and guess the references to the Vampire Brothers' names. I'll give you a hint…Bella is not referring to Twilight!


	3. Tense

**Tense**

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Lock, Shock**

**Pairing: Lock/Shock**

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* * *

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He should have known.

This is what he got for having a girl as one of his housemates.

He knew it was going to happen someday; it was something that always happened to girls, at least the somewhat normal ones.

He just didn't expect it to happen so suddenly.

Even after she hit puberty, she remained as flat-chested as he was, though she did develop slight curves on her body, and her nose started to look more normal, and her hair had thickened and gotten softer.

Two years later, at age fourteen…she'd finally gotten them. It wasn't like they were huge or anything, or even big, just average for someone who was just starting to really develop.

Still, once her tighter shirts started to show off the development, he found his eyes wandering there very often.

And, just as often, her fist found their way to his mouth.

That was nothing compared to the time he actually saw her breasts.

It was shortly before Shock had decided to move into the extra room. She had taken a shower while the boys were asleep and must have figured they'd be asleep for much longer.

Lock ended up waking up just in time to see his female cohort sitting on her bed, wearing nothing but a pair of panties and some stockings, a small brassiere laying upside down right below her breasts.

Of course, his eyes immediately drifted downward.

It took the witch about ten seconds to realize what he was doing…and about half-a-second for her to kick him in the groin.

Things had gotten so awkward between them ever since that accidental kiss underneath the bagworms. Awkward for him, anyway.

Ever since that day, he started to really enjoy when she got close to him.

That enjoyment only grew as….she grew.

Now, he was being forced to live with the worst temptation of his young life.

"Move over" the teenage witch demanded of her older comrade, standing over his bed wearing a long nightgown.

The devil looked up at her, his eyes somewhat blurry from having been woken.

She repeated her demand, but he still didn't respond.

Sighing in annoyance, she climbed over him, plopping down on the side of the bed closest to the wall.

"What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My bed's still broken and Barrel puked on the couch." She explained, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why don't you sleep in Barrel's bed?" Lock asked, though he already knew the answer.

His bed was the only one that could comfortably fit two people, as it was a full-side mattress.

Both his younger cohorts had, or in the case of Shock, whose bed had been destroyed during a game of "Search and Destroy" the week before, regular twin-sized beds, just large enough for one person.

So, with her bed nothing but a rectangular lump of spongy material and springs, of course the witch would decide to bunk with the devil.

Not that he minded, really.

However, because he actually valued the part of his anatomy that showed he was a male, and he knew how hard Shock could hit, he was going to keep his mouth shut.

"Fine….just stop climbing over me." he told her, wrapping his scratchy reddish brown wool blanket more tightly around his body.

The only response he got was a quiet grunt, but he knew her well enough to know that she was agreeing with the condition.

He remained awake until he was sure she was sleeping, before falling to sleep himself.

Lock moved his head slightly, and was surprised to feel something soft hit his face. It wasn't his blanket; that was a lot scratchier.

Curious, he opened his eyes a crack.

Almost instantly, he felt the blood drain from his face as he realized the position he was in.

He was nearly pressed against the witch, her breasts dangerously close to his hands, which were resting on the bed.

Her tangled, dark violet hair was in his face.

He inhaled slightly, catching a bit of the scent of the silkworm conditioner she'd bought recently.

"Hmmm?" murmered his cohort, looking up at him with a dangerous glare.

Lock felt even more blood drain from his face, if that was even possible.

He was certain he was going to be getting punished for breaking some boundary or another.

He braced himself for a punch in the face, and was surprised when her fist didn't make contact.

Instead, she made a rather growly demand.

"Get your knee out of my stomach".

Lock felt his cheeks go hot, their color changing from ivory to the same shade of red as his hair.

He quickly flipped around, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, careful to keep a thick section of blanket over his lap.

"I'm…going to take a shower. A cold one." he said in a low voice, taking the blanket with him as he left the room and headed to their small washroom.

Shock rolled her eyes at her friend's strange actions. He'd been acting so weird lately.

* * *

Disclaimer: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lock, Shock, and Barrel are all property of Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Touchstone Pictures, and Disney. I own nothing but this strange little plot of this oneshot.

Yeah….I had to do it. I had to make the "sequel" to Bagworms put Lock into a very awkward position. Hope you all enjoyed.


	4. Igor

**Igor**

**Rating: K**

**Characters: Igor, mentions of Finkelstein, Sally, Jack, and Jewell. **

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* * *

**

Igor liked Sally. She was nice to him and never yelled and made good tasting food.

Master made Sally when Igor was only a little one.

Most people think Igor was made by Master, but he wasn't. Master did experiments on Igor.

People call Master cruel for doing his experiments.

But, if Master didn't do the experiments, Igor would have died.

Igor had been very sick as a baby. He could not eat or drink or even breathe right. Igor's mother and father gave Igor to Master and Master did experiments.

He gave Igor a special pack in his back that helped him breathe. That was what made the hump in Igor's back. Master also made Igor's mouth hinge, so he could eat better and drink better.

The experiments Master did also made Igor uglier.

Igor's mother and father thought Igor was too ugly even for a monster, and they left Igor with Master.

Igor didn't mind. He liked Master. Master fed him dog biscuits and let him sometimes eat rotten pumpkins and flies got caught in the spider webs in Igor's room.

When Igor was little, Master gave him something very good. He gave Igor Sally.

Igor helped make Sally. He gave Master the things he called for when he made her.

But, when Sally was finished, Igor didn't get to see her much.

Master didn't want Sally going outside much. Igor didn't go outside much either. But, Igor didn't want to go outside. Outside was cold and wet and it was hard to walk around for Igor. He liked to stay inside with Master, where he was warm and dry and didn't have to walk a lot to get anywhere.

Sally didn't like to be inside, and she left a lot.

Master always found her and brought her back and Igor was always happy.

He thought when Sally came home, she'd talk to him in a nice voice and make him yummy food and fix his coats where they had ripped.

But, whenever Master brought Sally home, he put her into her room and wouldn't let Igor see her.

That was the only time that Igor did not like Master.

It wasn't because he thought Master was wrong to punish Sally; He knew Master never did anything wrong. Igor just thought it wasn't fair that he was punished because Sally was bad.

He got lonely when Master was working on his new "Mummy" doll.

It was tall and wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, and Master was always busy with it.

He never even talked to Igor anymore, not even to tell him to clean something.

Igor didn't like Master when he was busy with "Mummy", but there was someone else that Igor liked even less, and he didn't like this person even more than Master when he was busy with "Mummy".

Igor didn't like Jack Skellington.

Everyone else liked Jack because he was scary and nice and loud and talked to them like they all mattered and was never rude.

Igor didn't like Jack because Sally liked him. She liked him too much.

Jack was the reason Sally ran away all the time and got locked in her room when Master brought her home.

Jack was the reason Igor was always so lonely.

If Jack wasn't around, then Sally wouldn't run away and she wouldn't be locked up all night, and Igor could talk to her and she could mend his coats.

Igor hoped Jack would go away some day, and not come back. Then Sally would always stay home and be nice to Igor.

Igor would like that.

He really would.

* * *

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing from this. Igor, Jack Skellington, Dr. Finkelstein, Sally, and Jewell are all characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Being from that film, they belong to Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Touchstone Pictures, and Disney.

This is a short oneshot, I know, but I thought the length fit for Igor. I mean, if it was any longer, I'd feel like it was too lengthy and probably intense for Igor. This is not canon in anyway, it's just my personal interpration of Igor and his feelings towards Dr. Finkelstein, Sally, and Jack. Jewell, in case you can't tell is "Mummy", since this story takes place before the events of the movie, but not long before.

In case you're wondering, I will have a semi-pattern to these oneshots. I say semi, because the pattern will be broken if I do "Part-Shots", or stories that aren't oneshots, but I can't make into their own stories. The odd-numbered oneshots will usually have pairings, usually Lock/Shock or maybe Jack/Sally, and the even-numbered oneshots will usually be general stuff with no pairings.


	5. Color

**Color**

**Rating: **

**Characters: Jack, Sally**

**Pairing: Jack/Sally**

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* * *

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Sally began to reach towards the thick book on the shelf, pulling her hand away just before her fingertips touched the black and gold striped binding.

She had been with Jack for over a month now, and she still felt like she was intruding whenever she tried to look at his possessions without permission.

The king had told her that she was a guest, and anything that was within eyesight was free game for closer viewing. That included the many books that filled his shelves.

Sally still felt strange looking at Jack's things when he was not there to monitor her, to tell her if she was doing something wrong.

Finally, after several moments of debating whether to leave the book or to remove it from the shelf, Sally made up her mind.

She yanked the book off the shelf, squeezing her eyes shut as though she expected something horrible to happen.

It took only ten seconds before the ragdoll decided her fears were completely ridiculous and unwarranted, and she looked at the cover of the book.

It was mostly black, with thin curlicue designs made with gold-colored material that glittered and protruded slightly from the cover. No words were marked to describe what lie within the yellowed pages, on either the front or the back.

Sally took a deep breath before taking a seat in the armless coffee-brown chair with the back that seemed to have horns, and laying the book on her lap.

Once she situated herself, she opened the front cover, looking down at the open tome. She was quickly immersed by what she saw.

There were no words, only pictures.

But, this was not a book for small children, nothing but pictures and no story to be found.

The pictures themselves were unlike anything Sally had ever seen before.

They were miniature paintings, like those hanging in the halls of Jack's manor and the museum.

Even the subjects of the paintings in the book seemed to be the same as those hanging on the walls-beautiful young human women dressed in long, flowing gowns; old grandmothers with their graying hair hooded by a scarf; soldiers supporting each other as they walked away from some disaster; symbols of birds and plants and celestial beings, and more.

However, there was one main difference: the colors.

The paintings in Jack's home and in the old museum were all rather plain, none having any color rather than the very common black, white, and grey of Halloween Town.

In the book, however, there was so much color to the artwork. The skin of the humans had a normal, healthy tone to it, rather than the pasty grey of the Halloween art. Everything seemed so much more vibrant, so much more alive than what she'd ever seen before. It was beautiful…but at the same time, it was confusing.

Why did Jack have this book of colorful paintings in his possession?

He was the King of a land where the most beautiful things were the dullest in appearance were normally considered the most beautiful.

Sure, he had taken an interest in colorful things when he became interested in Christmas and tried to take it over, but he'd had this book for years, long before he'd discovered the yuletide holiday.

So, why did he find these paintings worthy of keeping on his shelves?

"Color around here is rare, and rarity can make even the plainest thing beautiful".

Sally felt her heart jump into her throat from surprise. She hadn't even heard Jack entering the room, his steps had been so quiet and she had been so immersed in her own thoughts.

Jack gave a good natured laugh and stepped around the chair, allowing the ragdoll to see him.

"You…scared me." she said meekly, feeling her cheeks begin to turn violet with embarrassment.

The Pumpkin King frowned for the briefest of seconds, before offering a warm grin. He knelt down, so his eye sockets met Sally's large, wide eyes.

Neither of them spoke as he slowly reached towards her, gently stroking her still violet cheek. His other hand stroked her long, red hair, as the one on her cheek moved down at tugged ever-so-slightly on her sleeve.

"When I first invited you to stay with me, you asked me how I could ever want somebody so plain" Jack said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But, color makes even the plainest things beautiful."

With his statement said, his gently pressed his thin lips against her small, cloth ones. The kiss lasted for several moments, though it never became more intense then the gentle pressing of the two pairs of lips against each other.

After they pulled apart, Jack chuckled slightly to himself and turned to look at his love.

"Of course, it also helps that you're the only person who can talk some sense into me."

* * *

Disclaimer: Really, no offense to you people, but if you still think I might own Nightmare Before Christmas, you really need to take an IQ test. I am nothing but a mediocre author of fanfiction based on plots that would never really happen. This great film is owned and created by Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Touchstone Pictures, and Disney.

Yeah, this is my first Jack/Sally oneshot, and my first story with them as the main pairing…at all. I know it sucks, it sucks horribly. But, please, do not kill me for completely butchering these characters. I love Jack and I love Sally…not as much as Lock, Shock, and Barrel…but it's close!

Thanks to Inferno Shock for the prompt. I owe a lot to you, my dear friend.


	6. Accidents and Misconceptions

**Accidents and Misconceptions**

**Rating: T (to be safe)**

**Characters: Jack, Sally, Mark (OC), Creep (OC)**

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"Creep! Stop it! That hurts!" Mark Skellington cried out as his friend sat on his back, pulling on his red hair.

The younger boy simply laughed and pulled harder, laughing more as the young prince of Halloween cried in pain.

Creep was the son of Lock and Shock, and he was actually worse than his parents in the eyes of many citizens, at least in when it came to violent tendencies. While his parents and their friend had been avid tricksters as children and even as teenagers, they rarely caused any real damage or hurt anyone. Creep wasn't so much a prankster as he was a public menace. He'd cause steal, damage property, and cause others pain for no good reason, other than the fact that he enjoyed it.

His favorite target for pain was Mark, who despite being older than the devil-witch hybrid by nearly a full year, was shorter by a good three inches.

Mark used to be taller than his friend, but years of having his head pressed on had changed that. Creep had more strength than he realized, or more than he admitted to realizing he had, and he often unleashed that strength while playing with the young prince. This resulted in many injuries and stunted growth for Mark.

"C'mon! Please don't pull my hair anymore!" Mark begged, squeezing his eye sockets shut.

To his great surprise, the plea seemed to work; Creep released his grip.

A second later, however, he felt a sharp whack on the back of his head, followed by searing pain.

While his comrade held his head and began to wail in pain, the younger hybrid rolled onto the floor, holding his sides as he laughed, a shrieking, high-pitched laugh saved for moments that he found completely hilarious.

Both the crying and the laughter caught the attention of the King and Queen, who were in the study and kitchen, respectively.

The royal parents came into the sitting room and immediately stepped towards the two boys. Sally pulled her nearly six-year-old onto her lap and began examining his head for tears.

Jack, meanwhile, approached the offspring of Loc k and Shock, who was still on the floor, writhing as though his laughter caused him pain. He only stopped when he felt skeleton hands grab him underneath his arms and pull him to his feet.

Creep chuckled as he looked at Jack's angry face.

"Don't look at me that way, Skellington. We was just playin'." the devilish child explained with a smirk.

Jack sighed; it was always the same with Creep, and likely always would be.

He was undisciplined and showed no respect for anyone, including the king of Halloween Town . Jack didn't expect the devil and witch to teach their son to be polite to the normal townspeople or the Mayor, but Creep showed the same amount of respect towards his parents as nearly everyone else, which was nearly zero. At least, that was as much respect he showed them in public. If he was better at home, nobody knew for sure.

Still, Jack couldn't believe the child had been disciplined so little that he was such a disturbance.

"Somebody needs to deal with that boy before he really becomes a problem" the skeletal king told his ragdoll queen before heading out to perform his tasks for the day.

Before he left, he looked into the sitting room, where Creep was randomly punching the walls, making large dents in the rotting wood.

Sighing, Jack stepped out the door, mumbling his statement to Sally back to himself.

* * *

When Jack returned home that afternoon, he was surprised by who greeted him when he stepped inside.

It wasn't his wife, his daughters (though, he wasn't expecting either of them, as Abigail was spending the day with her boyfriend, and Mary had been bedridden since the night before), or any of his sons.

No, instead the Pumpkin King found himself greeted by Creep.

The fact that Creep was even there to greet him was odd enough, as he could have sworn the child was only supposed to be spending the morning at the manor. Though, considering the level of obedience Creep seemed to have, it was very possible he was there without permission.

Even more confusing than the fact that the child was there to greet Jack, was the way he chose to greet him.

Rather than give his standard greeting of an obscene gesture or a smirk, the child simply ran over to the skeleton and screamed, "Skellington! Go away! Don't come back, you stupid bastard!"

He proceeded to keep calling Jack stupid, while pounding his fists on Jack's pelvic bone, which was the highest he could reach.

Jack was surprised, not by the hitting, but by how worked up the child appeared to be.

His eyes were shut tightly, his face was flushed, and it appeared as though he had been crying.

Jack racked his brain, trying to figure out what had brought on this reaction.

Suddenly, he remembered the statement he'd made to Sally earlier, about how somebody needed to deal with Creep. He hadn't bothered to keep his voice low, so it was possible the child had heard him.

From his own parenting experiences, Jack knew how children could take any criticism the wrong way. Creep had probably felt very insulted by what the king had said.

Jack lowered himself into a kneeling position, though the boy didn't seem to notice, still punching the skeleton, but now in the ribcage.

"I'm sorry, Creep." Jack apologized, ignoring the blows. "It was wrong of me to-"

His apology was cut off by Creep stepping back slightly, his eyes still shut and shouting, "That's right! It's _your _fault!"

Lowering his voice, the hybrid child spoke again, his voice quivering ever so slightly,"Your house is too big, and why do you only have one bathroom?" he demanded to know.

It was at this moment that Jack realized the crotch of Creep's pants was damp. Being a man of at least moderate intelligence, Jack quickly put two and two together, and realized the real reason Creep was so worked up.

"Just go outside next time!" the Pumpkin King yelled, sounding horrified.

Suddenly, Creep's eyes popped open. He muttered that Jack sounded mad, before asking, in an excited manner, "Are you gonna punish me?"

Jack blinked twice, unsure how to respond. Did…Creep just ask to be punished?

Before Jack could ask him, the boy continued speaking.

"Can you use the electric chair? I always wanted to sit in one of those!"

For probably the first time in his life, the skeleton man was completely at a loss for words, or even complete thoughts.

As the small child continued listing off forms of torture that could be used as his punishment, Jack finally realized why the former Boogie's Boys never seemed to discipline their eldest.

After all, how could you discipline someone who enjoys punishment?

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is originally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, including Jack Skellington, Sally, Lock, and Shock. They belong to Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Disney, and Touchstone Pictures…even though I don't think Disney's released anything under that label in more than ten years.

I don't even fully own the idea for this oneshot, as the thing with Creep wetting himself and getting angry at Jack for it is inspired from a scene in the awesome anime/manga series, Axis Powers World Series, involving young Italy Romano and Spain.

The only thing I really own in this oneshot is Mark and Creep.

Yep, Creep is growing up to be a sadomasochist. If anyone is wondering what that means, it basically means he enjoys seeing others in pain, and at the same time, he enjoys being in pain himself. As a result of this, it's difficult for his parents to figure out what to do with him, since when they punish him, he thinks he's being rewarded.


	7. Candy Corn

**Candy Corn**

**Rating: K+**

**Characters: Lock, Shock**

**Pairings: Lock/Shock (Kinda)**

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The infamous Boogie's Boys had just returned from their yearly trek to the human world.

The large sack they shared was bulging with all the candy they had gotten from the humans. The bag was so heavy; it had been difficult for even the walking bathtub to hoist it into the tree house.

None of the children was surprised at this; they always had a ton of candy after going trick-or-treating. They were experts at it, even at the young ages of eight and six (Lock and Shock were about the same age, with Lock being three months younger, and Barrel was two years younger than them).

As soon as the bathtub had climbed inside the tree house, the trio of friends undid the rope that kept the sack closed, climbing inside to receive their favorite candies. Barrel pulled out a lollypop; Shock grabbed a bag of sour gummy worms; Lock took some cinnamon-flavored jawbreakers.

They pigged out on the candies in the bag for what seemed like hours. After a while, the sack of candy was empty, except for the last pieces of candy at the bottom of the bag.

As per usual, the trick-or-treaters began to brawl for the remaining candy. It was a tradition going back three years, since Barrel became old enough to go to the human world on Halloween night with his friends.

Being the youngest and already nearly in a coma due to all the sugar he had ingested, Barrel quickly lost the fight. He lay on the floor, unconscious, with the area around his left eye swelling ever so slightly.

While their comrade recover from both his injuries from the fight and the stomachache he no doubt had from swallowing several gumballs whole, Lock and Shock continued to fight.

They rolled on the floor, punching at each other, pulling hair (and tail, in the case of Lock), and even biting on occasion. This last attack was surprising painful to both parties; while the devil had the sharper teeth, the witch put more force into the biting.

They fought for at least an hour, very possibly more.

Neither child was willing to surrender and allow their opponent to take the last piece of candy at the bottom of the bag for themselves. Once or twice, one would try to trick the other, suggesting that the candy was something they didn't like to eat. Of course, this didn't work and the two continued their battle.

Ten minutes, a bloody lip, and a large bruise on Shock's forehead later, the two finally called a truce. This meant that they would split the candy however they could.

With the truce called, Lock and Shock went over to the bag that was formerly almost bursting with candy and reached inside, reaching towards the bottom of the sack.

They pulled out another bag, this one much smaller and made of plastic. Inside the bag was some candy corn, plenty for the two to share.

The two trick-or-treaters sat on the hybrid-couch, placing the bag of candy corn between them. Each reached into the bag, pulling out handfuls of the tricolored candies and popping them into their mouths. Their hands were already somewhat sticky from the previously eaten candies and the addition of the candy corn and saliva (they would occasionally lick their palms to get the pieces of candy corn that stuck to them) was increasing the stickiness tenfold.

Suddenly, Lock and Shock felt their hands sticking to something, and they could not pull them apart no matter how hard they pulled.

Curious at to what their hands were sticking to, the children lifted their hands from the bag.

Their cheeks turned slightly red when they discovered their current predicament: their hands were stuck together, making it look as though they were actually holding hands. They attempted to pull their hands apart, to no avail. Their hands were just too sticky to separate.

Finally, they gave up and decided to just sit back, pressing their backs into the frayed-edged cushions on the back of the sofa.

"My hand was cold anyway," Lock said, obviously trying to excuse the fact that he appeared to be holding the hand of his female best friend.

"Yeah, mine too" Shock muttered in agreement.

However, after a half-hour had passed and the sugary goo sticking keeping their hands together had dissolved, the two kept their hands intertwined. When Barrel woke up and asked why they were holding hands, they both explained to him that the candy corn had made their hands stick together.

* * *

Disclaimer: The Nightmare Before Christmas, and all the characters in this story (Lock, Shock, and Barrel, if you couldn't tell) do not belong to me. I have a DVD of the movie, but that's all. I don't even own any merchandise outside the DVD with the images of Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Instead, they belong to Mr. Tim Burton, Mr. Henry Selick, the company of Mr. Walt Disney, and the company of Mr. and/or Ms. Touchstone Pictures.

Sorry for the short length of this newest oneshot. I hope none of you are terribly upset by the length, and just care more that I have finally updated.

The next story will most likely be starring Zero, so if you enjoy the spectral canine, please just relax and hopefully look forward to the next update.

The title of this oneshot is inspired by the story "Kisses, Candy Corn, and Lace Panties" by angelbones13. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Lock/Shock, otherwise known as "Shlock" pairing.


	8. Friends Past the End

**Friends Past the End**

**Rating: K+**

**Characters: Zero, Jack**

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They always say that a dog is a man's best friend. And for good reason, too. Dogs seem almost incapable of hating people, unless they're treated poorly by a person. It's also been known that canines and humans have been helping one another, keeping each other company for centuries.

It's also well-known that owning a dog will almost always end badly. After all, most dogs only live for about sixteen years, while most humans have an average lifespan of eighty years or so.

What many people do not know is this: dogs will find their masters, even after death.

Zero had been a mongrel, a dog made up of almost every small breed known to man, primarily terriers. He had been the only friend of Jack Shellingdon.

They were two of a kind, outcasts.

One was a mongrel in a world that was only interested in pets of the finest pedigree.

The other was born of the highest pedigree, but wished to belong to the lower classes.

Young Jack did not fit in with the pompous young men and women that his mother and father; he found them boring and very uptight and rude. He wanted nothing more than to have fun, to get dirty once in a while.

Zero, on the other hand, just wanted someone to walk past him, without kicking his side.

Both were about ten-years-old when their dreams came true.

Jack had found the small white dog carrying around what looked like a stuffed sparrow on his way home from the piano lessons his mother forced him to attend.

He was surprised, both because he didn't think he'd ever seen a sparrow, dead or alive, in his high-class neighborhood, and because he knew he had never seen a dog like this one before.

Forgetting that his mother was expecting him to be home soon, the tall, lanky boy moved closer to the dog.

The dog looked up, dropping the bird in his mouth to offer a canine grin while wagging his tail. The boy returned the smile with his own thin lips.

Slowly, he got down to his knees, holding his hand out with his palm facing upward. The mongrel hesitated slightly, before licking the boy's palms.

Before much more could happen, however, a woman's voice was heard from a few houses down, calling for Jack.

Jack sighed, but gently scratched the dog's abnormally long, ribbon-like ears before running home to his mother.

These meetings went on for four years, with Jack going to the same spot everyday after his piano lessons to play with the small white dog with the long ears and large nose. Sometimes, he would leave his house early simply to get a few extra moments with the dog, who he had named Zero. He had named the dog this because, as far as Jack was concerned, there were zero dogs that were as great as Zero was.

Unfortunately, like most stories where a dog and a boy become close friends, the happiness was not to last.

One day, shortly after the last heavy blizzard of winter, Jack went to the area where he always met Zero.

The blizzard had lasted several days, and over those days, Jack had been unable to visit his friend. To try and make up for not seeing him for so long, the fourteen-year-old had managed to pack a large slab of the ham his mother had baked the day before into a paper bag, determined to give the meat to Zero.

He stepped over to the bushes where he usually found the dog. However, the only thing he found was a small lump of snow.

Placing the bag of ham on the snowy ground, the teenager softly called for the old dog.

When the dog didn't come, Jack raised his voice and called again.

When that still didn't work, he smacked at the ground, trying to make more noise to get the dog's attention. Suddenly, his gloved hand hit something soft underneath the snow. His curiosity peaked; Jack wiped away the white powder.

He fell backwards as he discovered what was hidden under the snow, before running back home with tears running down his cheeks.

* * *

Five years later, Jack Shellingdon sat in the passenger seat of his mother's car, not listening as his mother scolded him for missing out on his piano lessons for the week.

Instead, he read one of his favorite horror novels, occasionally glancing out the window. As his mother was passing through the intersection, Jack looked up again, hearing the sound of screeching tires.

The last thing he saw before feeling a sharp pain in the side of his head that slowly faded to numbness before he completely blacked out. The last thing he heard was his mother's voice screaming his name in terror.

* * *

Jack groaned as he attempted to sit up, his skull still aching.

He touched his temple, his eyes flying open when he felt bone, not skin, under his fingers. He blinked once, and was once again surprised. He heard a clicking noise as his eyelids shut, something he had never heard before.

Forgetting about the pain in his head, Jack scrambled over to a nearby lake to look at his reflection.

The image that looked back at the nineteen-year-old made him gasp. He was nothing but a skeleton, his skull morphed into an almost-perfect sphere.

The newly-deceased (he knew he was dead, how else could he be in this state?) boy covered his now empty eyes with his hands, though he did not cry.

A soft barking caught Jack's attention, and he uncovered his eyes. In his peripheral vision, he could see an orange glow.

He turned his head, and felt his heart, if he even had one anymore, jump into his throat.

"Zero?" he said, his voice low. He didn't want to believe it, but it seemed so possible.

The little ghost dog floating inches above the ground looked so much like Zero. The only differences were the ghost's lack of eyes or legs, and the jack-o-lantern-shaped nose that glowed.

The dog barked once, then floated up to Jack's head and licked his cheek, as though confirming his suspicions.

Jack laughed, and then reached into his shirt.

He pulled off one of his ribs and threw it, laughing again as Zero floated after the bone to retrieve it.

Pulling the rib off had hurt, but Jack felt little more than a pinch. Even if he had felt more, he likely wouldn't have cared.

He had his best friend back.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack or Zero. They are the property of Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Disney, and Touchstone pictures. I don't even own this version of their possible back-story, since I'm sure it's been done before.

Yeah, I know I said this oneshot would focus on Zero, but as I started writing, it ended up being more about Zero and Jack, especially in their past. But, hey, I hope you all still like it.

Next oneshot will be a couple-based on. What couple? I really can't say.


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